We were allowed to write on anything we wanted to for an enlgish paper. I chose the struggles of Arsenal. It could only be 3 pages, no more, so i was well limited. Heres the rough rough draft, rough draft is due Wed, Final is due Friday...tell me what you think:
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The 2004/2005 season started off brightly for Arsenal Football Club. Arsenal won the league the previous season undefeated. They began their new season defending their title and topped the table after the first ten matches, and in doing so still remained unbeatable. However, Arsenal met one of their bitterest rivals in Manchester United on October 24th and lost the game due to some poor decisions by the referee. That game in late fall of 2004 proved to be a harbinger for the rest of the season and beyond. Arsenal finished second that year, but the games they won were played in such poor fashion, and the games they lost or drew would most likely have been won in other seasons. Arsenal currently sit fifth in the Barclay’s Premiership, a massive twenty-three points behind leaders Chelsea, and already have eight losses with fourteen matches remaining. Arsenal’s struggles, though, go beyond one match. Manchester United may have rocked their confidence, but the majority of Arsenal’s problems stem from Chelsea’s ever growing power, new players, and tactical mishaps. Arsenal seem to be a team in decline, but when examined further their potential is waiting to flourish and it just may be only a matter of time until Arsenal are occupying first place once again.

Arsene Wenger, the Arsenal manager, has never finished outside of the top two since starting his reign with Arsenal in 1996. Throughout those ten years, Arsenal won three league championships and four F.A. Cups. Pundits and fans alike hail Arsenal’s style of play as the best in the world. Their swift passing, flashy ball control, and wondrous goals helped contribute to their being known as the Harlem Globetrotters of English football. However, in 2003 Arsenal’s London rivals, Chelsea, acquired a new owner -- Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich. Prior to Abramovich joining Chelsea, Chelsea would struggle to finish above sixth place. With the new owner, Chelsea Football Club takes advantage of his immense wealth. They attract any player in the world by both paying an outrageous amount of money to the other club in order to release the player from his contract, and to the player in his wages. There is no competition in the transfer market now. If Wenger sees a twenty-two year old striker with great potential, for example, who is only worth five million pounds, Chelsea would make a bid of ten million. Not only does Chelsea have control of the transfer market, but they are rich enough to support at least two players for every position, thus essentially possessing two very good teams. Arsenal have never been a rich club. They, like most teams, rely on their youth system and buying the odd player or two to strengthen their team. Chelsea have essentially bought their success. They were a club about to go into administration in 2003 - the rough equivalent of Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States - and would have had to sell all their good players. Roman Abramovich saved Chelsea from financial disaster but in doing so limited the competition in the Premiership. The fact that Chelsea occupy first place with a fifteen point lead over second and with just fourteen games left depicts how Chelsea’s wealth has made every other team look mediocre.

With the limited money Wenger has at his disposal, he uses it very wisely. Wenger, a keen believer in youth, purchases young players and then coaches them into superstars. However, this season he has relied on the youngsters too much. Patrick Vieira was bought in 1996 as a nineteen year old. He became an influential and significant player for Arsenal, taking the captain’s role from the legendary Tony Adams in 2002. For the past few seasons Vieira expressed a desire to change teams. With his inconsistent performances and increasing injuries, the club decided to sell him last summer. This decision to sell Vieira was not the mistake; the blunder was that Wenger did not replace him. Arsene Wenger possesses a very talented, but youthful side. The average age of the first team is twenty three. The majority of the players, though, fall between eighteen and twenty two with a few first-teamers in their thirties which increase the average. Alan Hansen, a pundit for the BBC does not believe in youth as he believes teams “cannot win anything with kids”. Hansen still remains to be proven wrong on that concept. This current Arsenal team lacks experience, and the mental and physical maturity needed to play at such a high level. Arsenal may struggle for the next season or two, but once these ‘kids’ mature, Arsenal will once again be a dominant force in the Premiership.

Ever since Manchester United beat Arsenal in October 2004, other teams have figured out how to play against Arsenal. Most teams now have adopted the 4-5-1 formation, in which the midfield is clogged with players. This tactic makes for a very boring spectacle and is why Wenger has been so stubborn with his own tactics. Wenger believes that football should be “entertaining” and thus he uses the 4-4-2 formation which consists of four defenders, four midfielders, and two strikers. The formation is rather standard but has contributed to a lot of success for Arsenal. Arsene Wenger, though, has started to vacillate with the formation. He played with the 4-4-2 when Arsenal trounced Middlesbrough 7-0, but then changed the formation to 4-5-1 in the next fixture against Everton, and lost that match 1-0. Wenger’s reasoning on employing the 4-5-1 is to make up for the physical absence that created by the departure of Vieira. The problem with the formation, though, is that it isolates the striker. In Arsenal’s last ten years of success they have always scored an abundant number of goals, and their fault consisted of a permeable defense. However, this season the situation is reversed. Arsenal have managed to score only 40 goals in 25 games, while conceding just 19. Last season, when Arsenal finished second, they scored an impressive 86 goals in the 38 league games, along with conceding 36 goals. The result of the inexperienced players and the lack of a plan ‘B’ have contributed to Arsenal scoring fewer goals which results in their winning less matches.

Arsenal Football Club are currently a team in transition. The team possesses great talent and potential. Prospective talent, though, is not enough in the toughest, most exciting football league in the world. Should the young players learn from this season and come out with all guns blazing in the 2006/2007 season, the struggle will be deemed to have been well worth it. Arsenal are not a team in decline, but a team waiting to start another era. It is only a matter of time that the style of the old Arsenal will be seen again, transformed into the immaculate Arsenal of new.